Special Statement
An Air Quality Alert is in effect for San Joaquin, Mariposa, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, Tuolumne and Kern counties. Stage 2 health advisory is in place for Inyo & Mono counties. For air quality forecasts for Sierra Forest and Yosemite Park go to this link: https://wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlooks/YosemiteArea The following forecast is for PM 2.5 ONLY; Ozone is not included.
Fire
Weather conditions yesterday resulted in another day of increased fire behavior on all fires in the geographic area. Ferguson fire was lofting spots up to a 1/4 of a mile, allowing the fire to spread from smoke column fallout. As the inversion layers lift today, higher winds are expected to push the fires, increase the fire behavior, and challenge suppression efforts along ridgetops.
Smoke
Pooling of smoke settled much earlier into the valleys last night, causing low visibility and hazardous air quality in both east and west side foothill communities. Conditions are expected to deteriorate through the morning hours, with minimal daytime improvement as the inversion lifts, followed by heavy smoke in the evening. Communities east of the Sierra will see no mid-day lifting and may experience an increase in smoke concentration until early evening.
